Description - Critical Theory and Society by Stephen Eric Bronner

The Institute for Social Research, usually referred to as the Frankfurt School, was the first Marxist-oriented research institute in Europe. Its members attempted to revise both the Marxian critique of capitalism and the theory of the revolution in order to confront the social and political conditions that had evolved since Marx's death. As a result they developed a critical theory' of society to overcome those aspects of social reality which Marx and classical Marxism neglected or downplayed, such as the state, culture, psychology and everyday life. Critical Theory and Society provides a general overview of the perspectives which comprise the modern tradition of critical theory. It also explores the contributions of such crucial thinkers as Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Max Horkheimer, Jurgen Habermas, and Herbert Marcuse to various fields of intellectual inquiry such as social psychology, cultural criticism, philosophy and political theory. The selections have been chosen both for their clarity and for their importance to the tradition. Indeed, they are seminal essays, a number of which appear here in English for the first time.